No one would suspect that the vibrant little rascal who loves to run and play and drag all his toys out of the toy basket was once a shy shelter
dog. Jack (shown in front) was relinquished to animal control by his
person and then,
just before he was scheduled to be put to sleep, Partners
for Pets in
Troy, IL, saved him and posted his photo and description on Petfinder.

Rachael Heaton and her family in Collinsville, IL, had been looking on

Petfinder for a buddy for their other dog, a Pomeranian, so when she saw
Jack’s photo, she took note.

“I watched him on Petfinder for a few days until a friend of mine asked me to donate some cat beds to the shelter for her,” she says. “I drove down to the shelter to drop off the cat beds and saw that Jack was in one of the outside enclosures. I decided, why not?”

She met him, and he was very shy, although he did climb up onto her lap
eventually. “After I went home, I told my parents about him, and we
decided to pick him up the next day for a trial period,” she says.

Once at the Heatons’ home, he became really nervous, pacing around the
house and jumping at noises. “He didn’t come to anyone except me,”
Rachael says. But the Heatons were persistent. “My family has been so
great with working with him, rewarding him with treats whenever he
approaches them,” Rachael says.

Their efforts paid off. In just a few weeks, Jack turned into an outgoing,
lively pup; patience and perseverance had won the day. Jack now has a
forever
home.